§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance has been given by the United Kingdom Government to Albania in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [56718]
§ Clare ShortUK Government assistance to Albania began in 1993 and has focused on the regulation of capital markets, rural development, health reform, good government and the development of civil society. We have also provided assistance to Albania through multilateral organisations such as the EU, and during last year's disturbances we provided significant emergency assistance.
201WEarly in 1997 there was a hiatus in bilateral assistance to Albania due to civil disturbances. Since then the programme has been restarted and is focusing on strengthening governance and civil society, rural development and health reform.
Figures for UK bilateral and multilateral assistance are as follows:
Bilateral Year £ 1998–99 1800,000 1997–98 749,104 1996–97 1,038,000 1995–96 1,093,000 1 Forecast
Multilateral: (UK share) Year Total £ Of which EC 1997 1— 1— 1996 7,800,000 5,900,000 1995 6,100,000 3,900,000 1 Not yet available